Protesters Circle Capitol On Eve Of Gay Rights March

April 25, 1993|By RENE SANCHEZ And BILL MILLER Of The Washington Post

Linked arm-to-arm and clutching red ribbon that stretched for more than a mile, thousands of gay men and lesbians yesterday encircled the Capitol to demand that federal lawmakers spend more money to fight AIDS.

Cheers thundered across the Capitol grounds when organizers of the protest, the largest so far in connection with today's national march for gay rights, announced that the chain had been completed. To show their anger with Congress, the demonstrators stood with their backs turned to the Capitol.

Police provided no estimate of the crowd's size, saying it was too spread out to count. But ACT-UP, the activist group that organized the event, said protesters numbered about 30,000. At some points, participants in the human chain stood four or five deep.

"The silence on AIDS has been killing us," said Val Fields, a psychotherapist from Seattle. "We can't take it anymore."

The midday demonstration was one of dozens of gay and lesbian events held across the city yesterday on the eve of today's march, which organizers said could be the largest event ever held on the Mall.

Gay men, lesbians and their supporters who have come from across the country to march are demanding laws that would end discrimination against homosexuals, give them better access to health care and commit more money for AIDS research. Several conservative religious groups, calling homosexuality immoral, have vowed to demonstrate against the gay-rights march.

On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial early yesterday, more than 250 people, many of them gay and lesbian military veterans, urged that the ban on homosexuals in the military be lifted. In a solemn daylong ceremony near the Washington Monument, 1,900 quilt panels -- many honoring AIDS victims from small towns across the country -- were unfurled. The new panels are to be added to the AIDS Memorial Quilt.

And outside the Internal Revenue Service building on Constitution Avenue NW, about 1,500 gay and lesbian couples staged a symbolic mass wedding and used chalk to cover the street with hundreds of hearts bearing their names.

There were dozens of other gay and lesbian social activities, from soccer matches to dances and even a drag show. But the day was dominated by political events, including a lesbian march to the White House, a debate on how passages from the Bible are used against homosexuals and a tribute to gay-rights leader Harvey Milk, the openly gay San Francisco County supervisor who was assassinated in 1978.

The streets of Dupont Circle, a hub for the city's gay community, overflowed with gay couples, many of them holding hands. Lines outside some stores stretched for nearly a block. And on streets around the Mall and downtown, thousands of gay men and lesbians also wore hats and T-shirts that promoted today's march, which begins at noon near the Washington Monument.

An especially popular shirt said: "I Can't Even March Straight."

Although some tourists not in town for the march said they were bewildered by the sight of countless gay couples congregating on the Mall, there were few visible signs of tension.